Archive for March, 2011

How fun and terrifying it was to cook food on live TV. I have to admit that I cooked that soup about 3 times before the TV appearance just to get my timing down so that I would know how much talking I had to do. I was very happy that I remembered to mention that this was the first recipe that my dad ever collected when he was stationed in Germany in the Army as a young man.

I did also mention a few plugs about duckspoon, and that the duckspoon lentil soup recipe could feed a family of four for $3.96…however forgetting that $.99 included a french baguette. I had put together a list of necessary items, checked it twice, and still forgot to bring the serving bowls which were the vehicles for the soup. A slight surge of panic hit me (I had 37 minutes to find bowls before the camera person needed the product).

I had no phone reception in the studio, and so was forced to pace around the TV offices searching for a hot spot and trying not to appear panicked. I called Elizabeth, who had just received a cocktail while cooling her heels at Veritable Quandry and told her of my lentil soup breakdown. She rallied and was at the studio with two perfect soup bowls that she had collared from the restaurant.

Lentil soup is back on the menu, boys! The show went off without too much umming and awwing on my part. I spoke with Anne before hand, telling her a little of what I wanted to say and asking her advice on a couple items (mostly to sway her over to my side, I admit, I did batt my eyelashes…). I mentioned another aside from Elizabeth, that it was the first day of lent and I was cooking lentil soup.

Anne loved that and took that lentil soup tip as the leader into the story. I managed to fit in my little elevator saying (“I built duckspoon to take the chef hat out of cooking”) and did squeeze in that I was an Oregon boy. Elizabeth and I went and drank some lovely champagne, with foie gras, sweet breads, and steak tartare. We came home for dinner, drank some nice Oregon Pinot with her Morel mushroom risotto and labeled the lentil soup affair a success.